Exclusive: Sir David Carter to be named as next national schools commissioner

Sir David Carteris to be named as the next national schools commissioner, TES can reveal.

The former headteacher is currently the regional schools commissioner (RSC) for the South West of England, a role he has occupied since 2014.

The existing national schools commissioner Frank Green has a contract that is due to run out in spring 2016. It is understood that the Department for Education now wants to beef up the position to give it a greater role in overseeing the eight RSCs.

Sir David’s appointment to the national role is expected to be announced at the end of this week. The Welshman was among the first to win an RSC position, having made a name for himself leading the academy trust, the Cabot Learning Federation in Bristol.

The expansion in the national commissioner role will coincide with an expansion of the RSC’s job description, which is likely to grow yet further once the Education and Adoption Bill is passed in the new year.

The RSCs were hastily conceived by the DfE in 2013 in response to concerns about a missing “middle tier” after it became clear that the growing number of academies could not be monitored from a single Whitehall department.

Eight regional commissioners were appointed in 2014 to oversee all the free schools and academies in their regions.